There's a First Time for Everything: Rewrite
by Sp00pyGhost
Summary: Mai and Naru have met before, but neither kept in contact. Now they have to work together to find Gene and solve paranormal mysteries. Join them as they meet new friends and tackle the hardest cases around. Read to see how the team is formed and how they become the family we all love.
1. The Beginning

**Ghost here with technically a brand new story... Kind of. I will say more after this chapter.**

 **English**

Japanese

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Mai was fourteen, when her mom was dragging her across a mall in England. They had stayed there for a week. "Why do we have to go to the mall the day before we leave?" Mai whined as they walked passed the food court.

"To get some clothes, but first let's get some lunch," Her mother said dragging her to a table. "Stay here and I'll get you a salad." Her mother said walking away.

"So what's a pretty girl like you sitting here alone?" A boy just a year older than her asked.

"Gene it's good to see you," Mai said offering him a seat and looking at him for the last time, before she had to leave to go back home. He had jet black hair and pools of sapphire for eyes. He was wearing a light blue t-shirt, that had some game reference on it.

"Gene hurry up, mom wants you," A guy walked up, who Mai assumed was Gene's twin brother, which Gene had only mentioned once or twice.

"Mai, this is my twin Noll," Gene introduced his twin that had the same features, the only way to tell them apart was their clothes.

"It's not good to be expressionless all the time," Mai said, before looking at him. Unlike his twin he was wearing a black button up with a black pair of jeans.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Noll said almost glaring at her.

"I have to go talk to mom. See you later Mai." Gene said getting up and walking away leaving Mai and Noll alone.

"Later Gene. Please take a seat." Mai offered him a seat and he gratefully took it.

"So you have ESP?" He asks, his mask faltering a bit.

"Yes I do and your the famous Oliver Davis. You have PK and is a junior in college and will get your PhD at seventeen. You don't care for any girl except for you mother and your in love with yourself." Mai said, earning another glare from him.

"I wouldn't say I'm in love with myself. I just prefer to busy myself with work," He said, his mask back in place. "Aren't you supposed to be in school and not at a mall, by yourself?" He said making her blush a bit from embarrassment.

"Well I graduated school at 14 and I'm here on vacation with my mother," Mai said with a proud smile.

"You're pretty and smart," Noll sighs under his breath, but she still hears it and blushes.

"Well your handsome, smart, and you know a way to make a girl fall for you." Mai said back, covering her mouth a little too late, making herself blush even more

"Who is this?" Mai's mom asked as she came up to the table.

"This is Noll, Gene's twin brother." Mai said looking up at her.

"Mai I got a call from the airport. They had to change our tickets to today and we have to leave in two hours. I'm sorry sweetie but we have to get to the hotel and pack." Her mother said with a sad look, she really wanted to get some more clothes.

"It's fine mom. You've bought enough as it is." Mai said rolling her eyes at her mother.

"Well, I guess someone is going to have to wear coats during the summer," mother said jokingly, "Well, it was nice meeting you. We best be going now," She said, bowing slightly towards Noll and then looked at Mai.

"You go ahead and I'll catch up," Mai said to her mother and then waited for her to walk off. "It was nice meeting you. Here's my number, give me a call sometime," While getting up and kissing him on the cheek she handed him a piece of paper and then ran after her mother. Noll then stood, a bit stunned he walked over to Gene and his mother, hiding the piece of paper with the number.

TWO YEARS LATER

"Hey Mai do you want to tell ghost stories with us?" Keiko asked as they packed up their notebooks.

"Sure I don't have any work to do." Mai said putting her book bag on and they walked out of the class together to the classroom the use.

TIME SKIP

"Ok this one is about the old school building. I heard this from an upper class men. They were walking passed it at night and felt someone was watching them. She turned around and saw a white figure in the second building window," Keiko finished.

"One"

"Two"

"Three" Mai finished.

"Four." A male voice said from the doorway. Michuro and Keiko screamed and latch onto each other. The light turned on to reveal a guy with jet black hair and sapphire blue eyes standing in the doorway, "I'm sorry I heard voices and couldn't help myself."

"Oh no it's fine." Keiko said getting up and walking towards him. "What year are you?" She asked.

"I'm 18 this year. My name is Shibuya Kazuya," He said walking to the front of the room.

"So Shibuya-san, what are you doing here?" Mai asked getting his attention.

"I'm here for business with the school," He replied calmly, with a bit of shock in his eyes.

"Mai! Being a teacher's assistant, shouldn't you be grading papers and not telling some stupid ghost stories with students!" A teacher yelled at her from the

doorway. He wasn't wrong, she was suppose to be grading papers after school.

Mai bowed quickly and apologizes to the teacher. She takes one last look at her friends and then rushes out of the classroom a certain narcissist following behind her.

"Mai, wait up," He called after her, causing her to stop and whip around.

"I'm sorry Noll, but I have work to do. I can't chat anymore," She said briskly and turned on her heal back the way she was going.

"You have a PhD in Parapsychology, right?" He asked causing her to stop once more, but she didn't turn around. "I'm here to solve the mystery if the old school building. You can work for me and actually use your PhD," She turned around slowly and he met his gaze.

"Really? Just like that? No interview? No background check?" She asked as he walked closer to her.

"Yes and it will pay well," He said taking in her looks. She had grown quite a bit since the last and first time he saw her. Her hair was now short and she was wearing a white button up with black dress pants. "You'd also be able to wear whatever you want," smirking, he waited for her response.

"That'd be great. I'd have to talk to the principal, but yes," She said smiling ear to ear.

"I was just heading to talk to him. I can walk you," Noll said and they were walking down the hall once again, but together and in silence.

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 **Its a bit short, but its something and I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please review and follow. Love ya guys so much and talk to ya next time!**


	2. New Friends

_**Hai, so here's another update and I hope you guys love it. Since there is no line break anymore I'm going to italicize when I'm talking to you guys.**_

 **English**

Japanese

 **Enjoy!**

New Friends

Reaching the Principal's office they knocked and heard a muffled "Come in," from inside. They opened the door and standing behind the desk was an older man, he was just a few inches taller than Mai, with . He looked up as they walked in and a smile lit up his face. "Ah, Mai, I see you've met Shibuya-San. I didn't know if you were still here, so I was going to introduce you tomorrow, but I guess I can chalk that off my to do list," his smile slowly disappeared when he noticed Mai didn't return it. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?" He asked, becoming worried.

"No, I just wanted to discuss something," Mai said shaking her head and then trailed off. The principal nodded as a way of telling her to go on. "Well, um…. I love this school a lot and the students are absolutely amazing to work with… It's just…" she trailed off again.

"Just what?" He asked worry taking his features over again.

"Well, it's just that my doctorate isn't being used to its full potential and I'm honestly getting a bit bored and the paycheck barely pays enough and I'm sorry," she apologized and bowed, after rambling. She really did love this school but it just wasn't working for her.

"I completely understand," the principal said, shocking her and he continued, "That's why I wanted to introduce you to Shibuya-San. I was hoping he'd be able to give you a better job and pay you better than we do," he paused thinking over what he just said and quickly corrected himself. "Now don't get me wrong, I think I can speak for most of the staff, that we love to have you around and the same goes for the students, but I just know you can do better than a teacher's assistant," he smiled as she grinned at him from ear to ear.

"Thank you so much for understanding, I'll work the rest of the week," Mai said bowing slightly. She was so excited to finally be able to investigate paranormal activities and hopefully will be able to do some research.

"Not to ruin a happy moment, but we have some things to discuss about the old school building," Noll cut in, making them look at him. The principal nodded giving him his full attention. "Well, me and my assistant have done some background research and we found that the building was built on a swamp land. Did you know this?" Noll asked, looking at the principal expectantly.

"No, but what would that have to do with the haunting?" he asked confused and Noll just sighed and opened his mouth to answer, but Mai beat him to it. "Well that would explain the creaking and falling floors and possibly the breaking of the windows as well," the principal looked at her confused and Noll just smirked. Noticing the principals confusion Mai continued to explain, "When a building is built on swamp land it starts to sink over time, causing the building to become so uneven things will move across the room as if there is an unseen force moving it," she finished and the principal looked as if he understood it more now.

"We aren't saying there isn't a spirit haunting it, there are still some other things that has happened, that cannot be explained by this," Noll said thoughtfully and reassured the principal that his money was being spent well.

"Well, if that is all, I do have some work to attend to," the principal smiled and they bowed and left. They walked over to the old school house building and Noll filled her in on the information they've already collected, after that Mai left.

The next morning Mai awoke with a start. Breathing heavily, she sat up and looked around until her eyes landed on her alarm clock, it read 6:40am. Sighing and wiping the sweat from her forehead, she got up and headed towards her bathroom, a chill running up her spine as her feet made contact with the cold hardwood floor. Shuffling her way through her room she grabbed a towel and entered the bathroom. Twenty minutes later she walked back into her room and got dressed, the nightmare already forgotten.

Arriving at the old school house, she saw Noll passed out in the back of the van. As she walked up to him he seemed to wake up a bit. "Please tell me you didn't sleep here last night," she said stopping at the back of the van.

He cracked his neck, stretching a bit he asked, "Are you going to yell at me if I did?" All she could do was sigh and shake her head in disbelief. Mai tensed up, when she sensed two powerful energies. "What's wrong?" Noll asked noticing her change in stance.

"Look at what we have here. A few kiddies playing with daddies equipment," an unnatural red head said walking up to them, with her heels clicking against the pavement. Mai whipped around on her heal and crossed her arms. "Awe, did I hurt your feelings?" The women asked and then laughed.

"Hey, you don't have to be so mean," a man with mid length dirty blonde hair walked up behind her, shaking his head in disapproval. "Like you said, they are just kids," he added stopping beside the red head.

"For your information I have a doctorate in parapsychology and a bachelor in psychology, not to mention I at least know five different languages," Maid said with a huff and puffed her cheeks out. "I should also add that I have pk-st, esp, and I can astral project," she added with a point of fact tone.

"So, who are you two anyways?" Noll asked, getting up from the back of the van. "I'm Matsuzaki Ayako and I'm a Shinto priestess," Ayako answered proudly. Noll smirked and stated "I thought only pure maidens were allowed to be priestess." Mai and the other guy snickered, while Ayako just stood there with her mouth open and her face flushed with anger. "What about you?" Noll asked turning towards the other gentleman, who had stopped snickering.

"I'm Takigawa Houshou and I'm a monk from Mt. Koya, now that we've answered who we are, who are and miss smarty pants?" He asked, before Noll could make a comment about his long hair.

Before anyone could answer the principal spoke. "I'm glad you all have met. I would like to introduce you all to Father John Brown. He's from Australia," the principal had walked up behind Ayako and Houshou without anyone noticing.

"Principal, as I've told you before there is nothing here, so you really don't need to waste the schools money," Mai exclaimed in disbelief, that the principal could be so dense and untrusting of her abilities.

"I know Mai, but I just want to be sure. I hope you can understand. Anyways I'll leave you all alone to get to know one another," he said already walking away.

"Well, I feel like I've interrupted something," John said from where he was standing and he looked very awkward.

"No, it's fine. I'm Taniyama Mai and this is my boss Shibuya Kazuya. We were just introducing ourselves," she said, hoping to break some of the tension, but before anything could be said a girl with braided pigtails walked up. "You're not suppose to be here," Mai started, immediately recognizing her as a student.

"But I can help. I'm a psychic just like you Sensei," she said as if she had rehearsed that line a thousand times.

"Kuroda, I've told you before that your powers are latent and they won't show until after high school and how dangerous even being near this building can be," Mai said strictly and professionally. She hated when she had to use that tone but it needed to be done, since it made Kuroda flinch and her point stick.

"Fine, but you'll see. You all will see, that this place is haunted!" Kuroda declared and stormed off. Mai couldn't help but shake her head and sigh.

"Did she just call you Sensei?" John asked shocked and confused as the rest except for Noll, he was busy looking over some files.

 _ **I know it's a bit short, but here it is. I was gonna post it over Thanksgiving, but I wasn't able to work on it. Please review and tell me how you are liking it so far! Love you guys!**_


	3. Surprises

**Hey guys! Long time no write? or read? Anyways I'm sick with allergies and am plotting to rid the world of pollen, but besides that I have been hit with some good energy to write. I hope you enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think. I do not own anything to do with Ghost Hunt except my own ideas on how to spin the story differently.**

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Surprises

Mai blushed and smiled, "Yeah, she's one of the students I help teach at the school. I'm a teacher's assistant." she answered, looking away.

"Not for long," Noll added, grabbing a clipboard and a thermometer. "How much time do you have Mai?"

Mai looked at her watch and realized she needed to be at the school in 30 minutes and still had some papers to finish grading. "I have to go. I'll be back later." Mai started off, "Play nice Naru!" She said over her shoulder, as she started to run. Noll just rolled his eyes and continued what he was doing.

"She's a character, isn't she." Ayako stated and the Monk nodded in agreement.

"I think she's just energetic." John stated smiling. "So, what do you want us to do?' He asked Noll sweetly.

"Us? You think I'm crazy if I'm listening to some kid." Ayako snapped and walked off into the building.

"I don't care what you do, but if you want to help me, I could use some help setting up cameras." Noll said walking into the building and John and Takigawa followed him. After an hour of setting up cameras and taking temperatures, Takigawa went on his own to feel the place out. John stayed in base with Noll and Ayako was already walking around, avoiding them as much as possible.

"So is this what you do for a living?" John asked looking at the monitors.

"You mean sitting in abandoned buildings and recording empty halls and rooms, isn't just for fun." Noll shot back, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"And here I thought you would behave." Mai said from the doorway, crossing her arms and glaring at Noll. He just rolled his eyes and turned away from her.

"Shouldn't you be at the school teaching students?" he asked moving across the room to look at some research he had collected.

"I have a few free periods and I'm finished with all my work, so I thought I'd come help out, but it seems all I'm going to be doing is making sure you play nice." Mai shot back, still glaring at him. Her gaze softened when she turned towards John. "I hope he wasn't too bad while I was gone." She stated and smiled sweetly.

"Oh, not really. Honestly it was a stupid question anyways." John smiled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"No it wasn't, Noll just has a knack of being an," Mai was cut off by a scream from down the hall. They all rushed to one of the rooms at the end of the hall.

"Someone get me out of here." Ayako screeched from the other side of the door. "Stand back." Takigawa shouted at her and then he kicked the door in. Ayako rushed out, rambling about how the door shut on her and that this place is haunted.

Mai noticed Noll examining the door frame and followed suit. She noticed something poking out from the top of the frame. "Is this what you were looking for?" Mai asked quietly, making sure the others didn't hear and pointed to what looked like a nail. Noll nodded and pulled the bent nail from the frame. Mai couldn't contain her giggle and caught the attention of the others.

"What are you laughing at miss smarty pants?" Ayako asked, anger coating her voice.

"The fact that your so called ghost was a nail in the frame." Mai said teasingly and continued to giggle.

"Yes, but I wonder how it got there." Noll said thoughtfully looking at the nail he was holding in his hand. "We'll look back at the footage and see if we can find any clues." He walked through them and headed back to base. Mai followed closely after him.

"I honestly think they're dating." Ayako stated to no one in particular. Takigawa nodded in agreement.

"I think they're just good friends and we should stay out of it." John said following after the other two. Once they all reached base, Noll was already looking at the footage, with Mai watching from behind him.

"That's weird. There was no presence in the building to cause this." Mai said, dumbfounded by the static on the computer screen.

"What happened?" John asked peering at the screen.

"Right when Ayako goes into the room, the camera goes to static but there is no possible way of it." Mai answered frustrated.

"Unless someone messed with the equipment. We were gone long enough for someone to tamper with it. Mastusaki screaming her head off was distraction enough to get us all out of base." Noll answered, replaying the footage and watching closely.

"Or it could be a spirit and you two self claimed ghost experts are just inexperienced." Ayako exclaimed, cheeks red with anger and her eyes showing disbelief.

"Look if you think we're a joke you can go ahead and take your high and mighty attitude somewhere else or maybe actually do some work to prove your claim." Mai shot back glaring at her, but this glare was different from the one she used with Noll, this one was more cold and full of anger.

Ayako went to open her mouth to say something, but Noll cut her off. "Mai is right, if you are going to be here just to question us and how we work, then you might as well just leave." She scoffed and went to walk out the door when Kuroda ran in.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in class." Mai said before Kuroda could say anything.

"I was attacked when I came to find you." She said showing her neck.

Ayako scoffed again and said, "You can obviously tell that's make up. You're not fooling anyone."

"I-It's not makeup! I was really attacked!" Kuroda pushed passed Ayako and walked over to Mai.

Mai shook her head and sighed. "Kuroda you have gone too far this time. I am very disappointed in you." Mai said sternly, "Go wash that makeup off and get back to class." She commanded.

"It's not makeup! Why don't you believe me?! I was really attacked!" Kuroda started to get angry and soon the whole room started to shake.

"Everyone out now!" Noll stood and ushered everyone out of the room, as the building began to shake more. They continued until they got outside.

"What the hell was that?!" Ayako was furious, she grabbed Noll by the collar, "Tell there is nothing there after that I dare you!"

"Get your hands off of him!" Ayako let go of Noll and Mai continued, "Everyone just calm down. It was obviously a poltergeist, brought on by Kuroda." she stated calmly.

"What?! How could I have done that?!" Kuroda was baffled by what Mai was saying.

"You could be right. The shaking didn't start until Kuroda became infuriated by the fact no one believed her." Noll stated calmly, lost in thought.

"Are you serious?! How could I do something like that?!" Kuroda was furious and the building started to shake once more.

"Kuroda, calm down now." Mai's calm voice cut through the noise clearly. Kuroda spun towards her quickly and a blast of energy headed straight towards Mai, but it hit an invisible wall instead. "That's enough. You have caused more damage than I thought you would." Mai's voice was so cold that it hit Kuroda hard, so hard she collapsed to the ground in sobs.

"I'm sorry." She wailed. Everyone stood there shocked, not knowing what to say.

"It'll be ok. I know what it feels like to not be believed or to have someone there." Ayako had kneeled down beside the girl and rubbed her back to soothe her. Kuroda calmed and the building completely stopped shaking.

"I'm so sorry. I just wanted to be like you Sensei and prove that there were spirits here." Kuroda sniffled and looked up to Mai, but she had fainted, due to using her pk.

"Idiot." Noll mumbled under his breath. He had caught Mai, before she could hit the ground. Lifting her up he barked orders at them to take Kuroda to the school and to go home.

"Is she going to be ok? Did I do that?" Kuroda frantically asked. Noll just shook his head and laid Mai down in the backseat of the van.

"She had use her pk to block your attack. To create a force strong enough to block it takes a lot of energy and skill." Noll said a bit proud. "But it takes up a lot of energy, causing the user to pass out." He finished and got in the driver's seat of the van.

"Where do you think you're going, She needs to go to a hospital." Ayako yelled after him, but it was no use, he had already closed the door and started the van. They all stood there as he drove off.

"Well, I guess we all should go home." Takigawa said scratching the back of his head.

"What about Shibuya-sans equipment?" John asked, looking around.

"I'll watch after it." They all jumped at the new voice. A tall man, dressed in all black, with piercing silver eyes and black hair. "I'm his assistant. I was running some errands for him, when he called. You all will be expected to come back tomorrow." He stated and just walked into the building without another word. They all looked at each other confused and had no words for what just happened.

"Well I'm going home and you should be getting back to class." Ayako said standing and helping Kuroda up. No one questioned the encounter with the mysterious assistant or how Noll just left. They all went their separate ways. Kuroda told the teacher that Mai had fallen ill and went to the hospital and that she'd be back tomorrow. The others went home and prepared to go back the next day.

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 **I loved writing this chapter. All the friendly banter and how mature Mai is in this. I hope you guys enjoyed it and I will be sleeping for a thousand years after this.**


	4. Getting Somewhere

**So, Ghost Hunt was the first anime I've ever watched. Loved it! Well, I'm rewatching it now to refresh my memory on some things. I have realized almost all the main voice actors (Dubbed cause I can't multitask) are actually in almost all the animes I've watched since then and honestly it makes me really happy. Like the guy who voices Naru (Todd Haberkorn) and Mai (Cherami Leigh) voice Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia in Fairy Tail and then not to mention that the voice actor for Kuroda (Caitlin Glass) voices a character in Fairy Tail as well and also in Assassination Classroom and Fullmetal Alchemist as Winry. I even recognize a few more voices. This makes me happy… Sorry for the rant but I thought it was really cool. Anyways, enjoy! I do not own Ghost Hunt or it's characters.**

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 _ **Getting Somewhere**_

Naru drove Mai to the SPR office and carried her inside. A few hours passed and while he was in the small kitchen, Mai came to. "My head," was all she said as she laid on the couch, in the dimly lit front room of the office. Naru walked in and placed a warm cup of tea in front of her on the coffee table and handed her some aspirin. "Take it easy," he said softly as he helped her sit up. Mai drank some tea and then the pills. "Thank you," Mai said while looking around. "So, this is your office. Kinda bland don't ya think?" she asked in a semi-playful tone.

"Well we did just buy it," Naru answered looking around a bit himself. "How's your head?"

"Just waiting for the pills to kick in," Mai smiled meekly and drank the rest of her tea. "What time is it?" she asked, her eyes landing on Naru.

"2 pm. You've been out for about 3 hours," Naru answered, grabbing her teacup and standing.

"Great. That should go over well with the school," Mai said sarcastically. "We should head back the building," she tried to stand but ended up falling back.

"We will, but not until you're able to stand on your own," Naru walked into the kitchen and came back out with two cups of tea this time. He sat down next to her on the couch handing her a cup. They fell into a comfortable silence. A few minutes had passed and Naru finally broke the silence, "How is your mom?"

"Oh, right. Um, she passed away 2 years ago," Mai paused and stared down into her now empty cup. "It was a few months after our trip to England. She wanted to enjoy our last few months together, so she never told me," she quickly wiped a tear away and sat her cup down, before being engulfed into a hug by Naru.

"I'm sorry," was all he whispered and she completely broke. She had never talked to anyone about it and something about Naru made her feel safe and want to talk about it. Naru just hugged her as she cried. Mai soon quieted to just sniffles.

"I'm sorry. I guess I just haven't properly talked about it," Mai said sniffling a bit.

"It's fine. You can talk to me anytime," Naru said pulling away from her.

"Thanks. I feel better," Mai sniffled and hid her face."We should get back to the building."

"Alright, I know how we're going to prove that the building isn't haunted," Naru stood and held his hand out for her. She took it gratefully and stood up.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked as they started to walk out the door. They got into the van and that's when Naru told her his plan. They arrived at the school and headed straight to the principal's office. Kuroda and the rest of the gang were already sitting there.

"Mai, are you feeling better?" the principal asked as Naru set up this round light.

"Yes. I guess I just overworked myself," Mai smiled.

"Mai, the lights please," Naru said once he had finished setting the light up and Mai turned the room light off. "Everyone please keep your eyes on the light. Control your breathing so it's in sync with the light," pausing letting his words sink in. "Very slowly relax your shoulders and concentrate on your breathing," Naru's voice was calm and low. "Now start counting your breaths," his voice wavered in and out of everyone's minds. Almost distant he spoke his last sentence, "Tonight the chair on the second floor of the old school house will move." Naru nodded towards Mai and she flipped the lights on. "Thank you all for coming, now go home and get some rest." Naru began packing the light up, while everyone complained about their eyes stinging.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Mai smiled and opened the door for them and they filed out one by one.

"Alright Mai, let's head over to the old school house," Naru said picking up the black case and heading towards the door, "Thank you, principal, for letting us use your office,"

"Of course, anything to end whatever is happening in that building," the principal said gratitude filling his voice.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Mai said over her shoulder as she shut the door and followed Naru out. They walked over to the old school building. Lin was standing outside waiting for them. "Who is that?" Mai asked Naru as they came closer.

"That's my bodyguard, as my father likes to put it, but to anyone else, he is my assistant," Naru answered as the exited the van. "Is everything ready?" Naru asked as they walked into the building.

Mai followed behind, not really caring to pay attention to their conversation. She was finally able to take in how the inside of the building looks. There were old metal lockers, a few were on the ground. She wouldn't be surprised if it was from early that day. Places where dust once had settled was disturbed. "So, she's the one you and Gene wouldn't stop fighting over," Lin's voice cut through her thoughts effortlessly, but she pretended not to her and listened.

"What are you talking about? Gene and I never fought over her," Naru said bitterly. He looked back at Mai to see if she was paying any attention to them and being satisfied that it seemed she wasn't.

"I think it was Gene who had won that argument," Lin continued almost as if Naru had never said anything. Mai giggled at that, earning a look from both of them.

'Like I would ever date Gene. He had more of a brother vibe to him,' Mai thought to herself and smiled, giggling a bit. "Sorry, just remembered a stupid joke," she lied lamely. Naru narrowed his eyes at her and she could've sworn there was a small tint of pink to his cheeks. They walked into the base, which had been cleaned up and organized. "So, where do we start?"

"First we need to set up a camera. Lin has already prepared the room for our experiment," Naru said, grabbing an infrared camera and a microphone. Mai followed him out the door and to one of the rooms on the second floor. Boards lined the wall around the door and from the doorway you could see a chair in the middle of the room. Naru sat the camera up on a tripod facing the camera.

"Here are the markers," Lin spoke from behind them and Mai almost screamed. She looked at him confused, somehow he was able to hide his presence from her. Lin raised an eyebrow at her and she blushed at the fact she had been caught staring, that's when she noticed a little white ball floating beside Lin.

Mai was too lost in thought to have noticed Naru standing right next to her. "Good," was all he needed to say to make her jump once again. "Are you ok?" Naru asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, just a bit lost in thought," Mai smiled and blushed a bit more. "So, what's next?"

"We'll seal the room completely up and then I want you to sign your name all over the boards," Naru said grabbing the markers and handing them to her. They walked out of the room and Naru and Lin nailed the rest of the boards over the doorway. Mai then started to sign her name in both Japanese and English. "Now we need to have a talk with Kuroda," Naru said walking ahead of them.

"Why can't I sense your presence?" Mai asked the tall Chinese man next to her. He looked at her, seeming to analyze her thoughts.

"I am an omnyoji. You can see them can't you?" He asked walking beside her.

"They're Shiki aren't they?" he simply nodded. "So, did Gene and Naru really fight over me?" Mai asked timidly.

Lin chuckled and simply said, "Gene only won because he met you first." Finally reaching base their conversation was cut short.

"So, we just wait and watch to see if it worked?" Mai asked walking over to Naru.

"I thought you had a PhD in parapsychology or was that just to make you seem smarter than you are," Naru half teased her. Mai only glared at him and huffed. "Yes, we just have to wait," Naru said turning away from Mai and looking at the cameras.

"Lin, since this is most likely going to take all night, why don't you tell me about Naru's childhood," Mai sat down near Lin and shot Naru a smirk.


	5. Just The Beginning

**Hello lovely readers. I am off from school for the next week, so be ready for the spam of uploads. (No promises...) Hope you guys enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you thought. I would also like to thank SnaveJ for helping me write this chapter.**

* * *

 _Just The Beginning_

"Those are not my stories to tell," Lin replied to Mai before opening his laptop and ignoring them both. It was Naru's turn to smirk.

"So if the autosuggestion works the chair will move, correct?" Mai asked moving her chair over to beside Naru.

"Yes, now be quiet and find something to do," Naru looked at her and then returned his eye to the monitors.

"Shouldn't we leave, so as to not contaminate the experiment?" Mai asked looking up at the ceiling.

"No, since I am in control of my pk, so there will be no false results," Naru answered sighing as he grabbed a book from his bag.

"Hey, that's my book," Mai gasped earning a confused look from Naru.

"What do you mean?" Naru asked looking at the author's name on the book and then raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well, I mean I used an alias obviously, but it's my book on living life with Astral projection and pk-st," Mai smiled, she was very proud of herself. "I wrote it when I was 15."

"Of course, I mention some of the content you wrote about in my second book, but in far more scientific terms. I suppose some people might prefer the more colloquial approach or I guess in your terms a simple approach." Naru started to say something else but was interrupted by Mai.

"I know what colloquial means!" Mai pouted and glared at him.

"Of course you do," Naru smirked and watched her face as it turned red with anger and then watch her storm out of the room, grumbling about getting bringing food back because she's nicer than him.

"Was that really necessary?" Lin looked over at his charge. Naru just pretended not to hear him and started to read Mai's book. 'Living with the Paranormal, what a cheesy title.' Naru thought to himself as the book absorbed him.

Mai came back sometime later with a few things of food. "I have food," Mai announced as she placed them down on one of the empty tables.

"Thank you Taniyama-san," Lin moved his chair over to the table with another one for Mai. "Noll, are you going to join us?" Lin asked as Mai handed him a box of noodles. Naru moved over to the table and Mai handed him a box as well. She poured each of them a cup of tea and then sat down in the chair Lin pulled up for her.

"Has anything changed, while I was gone?" Mai asked digging into her own food.

Naru swallowed his mouthful of food and answered, "Nothing yet, but we still have," Naru checked his watch and then continued, "9 hours to go."

Mai pouted and they continued to eat. A calm silence settled over them until they ran out of tea. "I'll make a tea run," Mai said walking out of the base and she soon returned, this time with a thermos full of tea. After pouring them each another cup of tea, Mai and Naru began to chat. Naru said a word that Mai only raised her eyebrow at, confusion written all over her face.

"I'm sorry are you too stupid to understand what I'm saying," Naru simply stated smirking.

"Excuse me. At least I don't have to use big words to make myself sound smart," Mai huffed and crossed her arms. Naru just raised an eyebrow at this, which only made Mai angrier.

"Taniyama-san, calm down," Lin said looking over at her and then he gave Naru a stern look.

"Sorry," Mai took a few deep breaths, and then simply stated, "At least I didn't fight over someone with my twin." Naru ended up choking on his tea a bit and Mai just smirked. "Oops, did I say something wrong?" Mai asked innocently. Naru only glared at her and Lin just chuckled silently to himself.

It was around 3 am, when Lin woke Naru, who had fallen asleep while reading. "Noll, it's happening," was all Lin had to say for Naru to sit up and look at the monitors. The chair they had set up in front of a thermal camera started to move around and the surface of it became warmer with each passing minute until it was thrown across the room.

"It seems it has worked," Naru stated simply and then looked over to Mai, who was slumped over with her head laying on the table. Naru took his jacket and folded it up. He placed it gently under Mai's head without waking her.

A few more hours passed and the others showed up. Mai awoke to Ayako and Takigawa bickering. "Can't you guys just confess your love already and stop," Mai said stretching and looking around until her eyes landed on Naru, "How long was I out?"

"You passed out around 1 am," Naru answered her without looking up from the book he was reading. "Now that you all are here we can begin," Naru stated shutting his book and standing.

"We've been here an hour, you just refused to wake your girlfriend," Ayako smirked, but it was soon gone with one glare from Naru.

"Sheesh, just because you're having relationship problems, doesn't mean you get to meddle with others," Mai simply retorted and smirked. The Miko's face began to turn red, but they couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

"Lin, play the footage," Naru ordered before anything else could be said. Everyone turned their attention to the monitor. Mai took this chance to notice that most of the equipment had been packed up. Actually, the only equipment that was left was the monitor and the equipment set up in the room. Mai finally looked at the monitor and watched as the chair was thrown across the room.

"So it is a poltergeist," Takigawa said calmly, shrugging his shoulders, "I mean it's not like we didn't get enough evidence yesterday."

"The autosuggestion worked," Mai simply said, causing the group to turn around to face her with questioning looks. "Come on, you claim to be professional but yet you don't know what Naru had done yesterday," Mai shook her head. "Naru gave you all a suggestion to move the chair on the second floor. If the suggestion worked, we'd be able to tell that it is a poltergeist caused by humans. Most human-caused poltergeist are by teenagers, from the ages of 12 to 16 or to be more specific, females who are going through puberty and has extra stress, like possibly being seen as a wannabe psychic at the school their attending," Mai looked over to Kuroda who had been hiding in a corner the whole time.

"Oh, come on, how do we know you didn't just sneak into the room and moved it yourself. You claim to have pk," Ayako said crossing her arms.

"If you would like we can go check the boards that we sealed the room with to see if Mai had damaged them or I could just tell you that when this footage was recorded she was fast asleep," Naru said dryly crossing his arms.

"I would love to see the room," Ayako huffed and walked out of the room.

"Are we going to ignore all the evidence from yesterday?" Monk asked looking around at the rest.

"Yeah, I thought that would've been enough," John said looking over to Naru.

"I wanted to be sure it was just Kuroda, it was possible Mai could've been the cause," Naru said standing up and followed Ayako out. Everyone else did the same, with Mai grumbling about how she's in control of her pk.

"As you can see none of the boards has been tampered with. Mai, has your writing been disturbed?" Naru asked her and smirked when he saw she was glaring at him.

"No, it has not. Obviously, it was impossible for someone to come into the room and especially impossible for someone who is in control of their pk to move the chair," Mai said after she examined the writing.

"Lin, take it down," Naru ordered and Lin began to take down the boards. "Mai if you have a problem with me go ahead and say it," Naru whispered to her as they all watched Lin take the boards down.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Mai smiled innocently looking at Naru from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, so you're not only stupid, you're deaf as well," Naru smirked as he watched her face turn red with anger, but then Mai soon smirked as she threw a small piece of rubble at him using her pk. He dodged it skillfully, but the action didn't go unnoticed. Lin snapped his head over towards the two and then glared at them both.

"It's done. Father Brown, would you mind collecting the equipment, I need to have a chat with a couple of children," Lin said calmly and John only nodded. Satisfied with the answer Lin walked toward Mai and Naru and grabbed them both by their shoulder and pushed them all the way outside. "Noll, if you cannot control yourself, I will be forced to inform your parents," Lin was pissed, "And Taniyama-san, don't give into his teasing. You two are acting like children and if you continue to do so no one will take the professors business here seriously," Lin pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"I'm sorry, you're right Lin, I was an idiot to let him get to me," Mai bowed apologetically, you could see how sorry she was as it was written all over her face.

"Are you done? I have the equipment to pack up," Naru said dryly as if he hadn't been affected by the scolding at all.

"Yes Noll, but remember, if this happens again I will be forced to tell your mother," Lin smirked as all the colour drained from Naru's face.

They were walking back to base when Mai had a feeling of uneasiness. "Naru we should hurry," Mai said walking faster, the feeling growing with every step.

"Well, we can help carry this equipment out," Takigawa said as they walked into the base. Naru simply nodded.

"We need to hurry," Mai urged, the feeling of uneasiness becoming unbearable.

"Alright, everyone is needed to move the rest of the equipment," Naru said, his eyes not leaving Mai's. Ayako sighed and helped carry the few cables that were left. John and Takigawa were carrying the last bit of shelving and Naru took the last monitor.

"Everyone get down!" Mai yelled and the second she did the building started to collapse. Naru ran and covered Mai with his body, Takigawa did the same with Ayako, and John was close enough to Kuroda to pull her behind the van. Once the building stopped and the dust settled only half the building remained. "You can get off of me now," Mai said pushing Naru a bit, as she blushed a shiny tomato red.

"What can't deal with me being this close?" Naru whispered in her ear, before standing and helping her up, if she wasn't blushing, her glare would've been more deadly.

"Is everyone ok," Mai called out and looked around. Takigawa was holding his shoulder, where Ayako had punched him. Lin stood and dusted himself off as John and Kuroda slowly came from the other side of the van.

"That must've been why you were rushing us out of the building," John said looking at the fallen half. "If it weren't for you, we would've still been inside and possibly hurt," He smiled and Mai blushed more.

"Yeah, thanks jou-chan, you saved our butts," Takigawa said as he helped the Miko up.

"Sensai, what are you going to tell the school?" Kuroda asked timidly.

*We will tell the principal, that the building collapsed due to a successful exorcism. The ghost of the teacher who had hung himself put up a fight, but we were able to get the job done," Naru answered before Mai could say anything. "Does anyone have a problem with that?"

"But why don't we just tell the principal the truth?" Monk asked while everyone else nodded.

"It's so obvious. If we tell the principal the truth, then more stress will be put on Kuroda and if that were to happen it'd put more people at risk, even counting herself," Ayako answered him with an 'I'm smarter than you tone'.

"You couldn't be any more right. That reminds me, Kuroda I want you to meet me every weekend, unless I'm on a case," Mai's tone was strict but sweet.

"Why?" Kuroda asked confused.

"I will be training you," Mai smiled sweetly and walked over to the girl. She gave her her phone number and address and discussed it more.

"Lin, let's get going," Naru said and they both started walking over to the school. "Mai, don't you want to say goodbye to your students?" Naru asked over his shoulder.

"Come on Kuroda, you need to get to class," Mai said and they both followed them.


	6. Flirt or Jerk?

**Enjoy and don't forget to review. Thank you to all who have reviewed so far, I love the feedback!**

* * *

 _Flirt or Jerk?_

Mai was sitting at her desk. It had been 3 weeks since the building collapsed and had a tearful goodbye with her friends. Business had been slow, but they did have the occasional person walk in and then refuse to tell them their case once they were told Naru is the manager. "Mai, tea," Naru called out from his office. She should have been paying attention to the time since he calls for tea like clockwork.

Mai stood up and walked into the kitchen. She placed a pot of water on the stove to boil. She was facing away from the doorway as she sensed someone walking up behind her. Mai ignored the feeling and reduced the heat under the pot. She went to reach for a few teacups out of a tall cabinet, but struggled a bit, before she felt a hand on the small of her back and an arm dressed in black reaching up instead. She blushed and mumbled thanks. Continuing on with what she was doing she could feel his eyes watching her which only made her blush more and bite her lip.

"Is something wrong?" Naru asked her and it almost sounded as if he was right next to her.

"Nothing," Mai said looking away from him as she continued to fix the tea.

"Then why won't you look at me," you could hear the smirk in his voice. Mai refused to say anything this time not trusting her voice. He moved closer to her, but before he could tease her more, the bell above the door jingled.

Mai finished the tea and then went out into the commons room to greet their guest. "Oh, John how nice to see you," Mai smiled and they hugged.

"Yes, it's nice to see you too," John smiled just as brightly back at her.

"What are you doing here?" Mai asked, practically pushing him over to the couches, welcoming the distraction from her thoughts of Naru.

"Well, uh Shibuya-san asked me to stop by when I could. I've been so busy at the church, I haven't been able to," John rubbed the back of his neck and Naru walked into the room. "Ah, Shibuya-san here's my contact information you asked for," John placed a piece of paper on the table and Naru picked it up and looked over it, seeming to be pleased with it.

"Thank you, Father Brown," was all Naru said before he walked back into his office and closed the doors.

"So, does this mean you'll be helping us on cases?" Mai asked excitedly.

"I guess. Shibuya-san didn't tell me why he wanted it, but I guess that's a good reason," John was still smiling and then looked at his watch. "This is all I had time for. Sorry Mai, but I have to get back to the church."

"Ok, we'll have to catch up some other time," Mai smiled and walked him out. Once the door was closed, she marched right to Naru's office and walked right in. "What the hell was that earlier?" Mai crossed her arms and huffed.

"I have no clue what you are talking about," Naru had his back to her, but again you could hear the smirk in his tone.

"You know what, this means war. Have fun fixing your own tea for the rest of the day," it was her turn to smirk as Naru spun around in his chair to face her.

"That's fine, I know you want to see me more anyway," Naru smirked as she blushed.

"God you're such a jerk," was all Mai said and she turned on her heel, making sure to slam his office door on the way out. She grabbed her coat and went for a walk. 'Ugh, how could I have fallen for such a jerk,' Mai thought to herself as she stopped in at a nearby coffee shop.

"Hey, Jou-chan over here," Takigawa waved her to the booth he was sitting at. "What's up?"

"Don't get me started," Mai shook her head and sat down across from him. "I can't believe I work for such a jerk," Mai huffed and a waitress walked over noticing the new arrival.

"What would you like?" she was a young blonde, obviously American.

"Oh, just a cup of tea," Mai smiled and the waitress wrote it down.

Before the waitress could walk away Takigawa caught her attention, "Get her a piece of cake too, and also this will be on my bill," he smiled and you could tell the waitress was falling for him.

"I don't need the cake, I need a new love interest," Mai mumbled under her breath but Takigawa still heard it.

"Oh come on her can't be that bad," he chuckled and smiled.

"Trust me he is. One second he is acting all emotionless and not caring and then the next he's teasing me and acting as if he actually has a soul," Mai was tired of the games and all the teasing.

"Well, what if that's his way of showing he likes you," Takigawa said becoming a bit serious.

"Yeah right, come on Monk you can't think he actually has feelings for me," Mai said doubtfully, but Monk was caught off guard by what she just called him.

"Yes I do and really, Monk?" he asked laughing a bit more.

"Well, you call me Jou-chan, so I need a nickname for you," Mai shrugged and the waitress came back with Mai's tea and cake. "Thank you."

"Of course and it's so sweet to see a father spending time with his daughter," the smiled sweetly at them and then walked off. Mai couldn't contain her laughter while Monk only sat there with a shocked expression.

"I don't look that old, do I?" Monk asked looking in the reflection of his phone.

"Apparently you do," Mai said between giggles. "Thanks, by the way, I really needed to cool down and clear my head."

"Of course, what's a father for right," Monk joked and they laughed. Their laughter subsided and they shared the piece of cake. Once they finished, Monk paid the bill and left a nice tip. "I'll walk you back, I have to give my contact information to Naru anyways."

"He must be assembling a team, John was there earlier too," Mai said as they started down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I would assume so, since I doubt either you or Naru could perform an exorcism," Monk said taking shorter strides than he was used to.

"I can confirm that I can only cleanse a spirit, but I do have a protection charm," Mai showed him the necklace around her neck. There was a silver coin with some writing in English on it. "My mother got it for me when we went to England a few years ago," Mai smiled sadly, but Monk was too distracted by reading the coin to notice.

"Wow, this is the real deal too," Monk said as he continued to walk.

"Yep, I can feel the power coming off of it if I really concentrate," Mai smiled and they quickly arrived at the office. "He should be in his office, just knock," Mai said pointing to the dark oak doors.

"Wish me luck that he doesn't want to steal my soul," Monk joked and Mai giggled. Monk knocked on the door and Mai took her jacket off and sat down at her desk. It wasn't long before Monk reappeared and said: "I'll see ya later Jou-chan."

"See ya, Monk," Mai said cheerfully and then her eyes met a pair of blue. "What?" she asked turning back to her laptop.

"You can't just disappear from work without telling someone," Naru's voice was serious.

"I was on lunch, you should have thought logically about it," Mai said looking over at him, he had walked over to her desk and was standing right next to it now. Mai sighed and leaned back in her seat. "Did someone worry about me?"

"Mai, don't even start," his voice was low and struck her hard. "How was I suppose to know where you went and for all, I knew you were kidnapped."

"Come on Naru, give me some credit," Mai looked away and bit her lip. "I was with Takigawa after all, I was completely fine and if it helps my mother had me take self-defence classes since I was 10," Mai smiled, but the look he gave her made her bite her lip again.

Naru sighed and sat in the chair next to her desk, "Mai it would've been my fault if something had happened to you," his eyes softened and he was looking down at his hands.

"I'm sorry," Mai practically whispered. She looked down at her hands and continued to bite her lip.

Naru placed his hand on her knee and smiled softly, which only made her blush and look away. "No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be so hard on you," he said softly, squeezing her knee a bit, Mai still refused to look at him. "Mai, look at me, please." Mai looked up at him and she got lost in his deep blue sapphire eyes, for a second she could've sworn he was leaning in, but the moment was soon ruined by someone clearing their throat. They both separated as quickly as possible.

"Noll, there's a call for you, I already switched it to the phone in your office," Lin was beyond amused. He'd have to tell Naru's mother all about it.

"Thank you, Lin," Naru stood and walked into his office. If Mai hadn't been too busy, she would've noticed the small tint of pink on his cheeks.

"Taniyama-san would you like some tea?" Lin asked her, amusement still gracing his features. Mai simply nodded, knowing her voice would only crack. Lin went into the kitchen and a few minutes later brought her a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Mai took a sip and then starred down into her tea. She was blushing from embarrassment.

"I'll be in my office," Lin said walking back to his office and before he closed the door Mai could've sworn she heard him chuckle. Mai relaxed in her seat and continued to drink the tea.

The day came to an end and Naru never came back out of his office. Mai knocked softly on his door and then opened it after she heard a muffled 'come in'. "Hey, I'm leaving for the day," Mai smiled and then bit her lip. Naru was looking down at a book and it seemed he hadn't heard her. "Naru?"

"Hm, sorry, did you say something?" Naru asked, finally looking up from his book.

"Now look who's deaf," Mai teased and she saw a small hint of a small grace his lips.

"At least I'm not stupid like you," Naru retorted and Mai glared at him.

"Well, I'm going home for the day. See ya tomorrow Naru," Mai said turning on her heel and she walked out of his office, not closing the door this time.


	7. Dollhouse

**I am back with another chapter. It's time for the ever so creepy doll Minnie to make an appearance. Let's hope I can capture just how creepy she was in the anime in my writing. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Dollhouse_

The day went by fast, but an hour before closing time, two women walked into the office with a little girl hiding behind one of them. "I'm Taniyama Mai, how can we help you?" Mai stood and bowed.

"Um, my name is Morishita Noriko and this is my niece Ayami and my sister Kana. I think our house is haunted," Noriko said bowing slightly. Mai gestured to one of the couches and they sat down.

"I'll be right back with tea and then we can begin the interview," Mai smiled and went into the small kitchen.

While fixing the tea she could overhear them talking. "Come on Noriko you can't be serious. She doesn't even look like she's out of high school," Kana scoffed. "How can we be sure they're the real deal?"

"This is gonna be fun," Mai muttered under her breath as the kettle whistled. She placed the teacups and the kettle onto a tray and brought it out to them. "Let me grab my notebook and then we can begin," Mai smiled brightly at them and set the tray down on the coffee table.

"Can we see your boss?" Kana asked rudely and Mai was about to say something, but Naru walked out of his office.

"Mai, what's the problem?" he addressed her ignoring the potential clients.

"I do not see a problem, but if she insists you sit in on the interview I don't mind. Whatever helps out clients feel comfortable," Mai said as sweetly as possible and Naru had to force himself not to smirk.

"If that is the case, then go get Lin," Naru ordered and Mai did as told. Soon Mai and Lin were sitting on the opposite couch and Naru sat in his usual chair. "I'm Shibuya Kazuya and this is my assistant Lin, you have already met Mai our top investigator," Naru said cooly opening his little black notebook. "Mai, begin," he ordered.

"Noriko-san, please tell us what makes you think your house is haunted," Mai said preparing to write.

"Well, it started with things being moved around, at first I thought it might have been one of the maids, you know. Moving something while they clean and just forgetting to put it back, but when asked about it, they said that it had happened to them as well. We all thought maybe Ayami was just playing around, but then this happened to her," Noriko nudge Ayami and she held her arm out. A bruise in the shape of a tiny hand had formed on the little girl's arm. Mai gasped and then inspected her arm gently. "Ayami is the only child in the house and we haven't had any playdates, so we don't know where it came from," Noriko looked down into her tea.

"What else has happened?" Mai asked, satisfied with her inspection of the arm and she smiled kindly at Ayami, who just pulled her arm back.

"Late at night, when I go to check on Ayami I swear her doll is watching me," Kana spoke up, rubbing her arms.

"Minnie is just a doll, nothing more," Noriko said shaking head in disbelief.

"Watching you? How?" Mai asked ignoring Noriko's sigh and looked at Kana.

"Her eyes follow you everywhere and I swear I can hear it talk sometimes," Kana said shivering at the thought.

"She does talk," Ayami spoke up making them all look at her, but when they ask her to tell them more Ayami refused.

"We'll take your case," Mai said and Naru narrowed his eyes at her. "Please write all your information down and prepare a room with a lot of outlets," Mai handed them a piece of paper and Noriko wrote down their address and phone number. They all stood up, Mai walked them out and Lin retreated back to his office before the argument could start.

"What were you thinking?" Naru asked, his voice cold and flat.

"It's an interesting case, you're just mad you don't have the lead on this one," Mai huffed and crossed her arms. "Honestly Naru, what do you expect, that bruise on the little girl's arm was real and definitely couldn't have been caused by anyone else but another child," Mai pointed out and Naru just shook his head.

"They could have been lying about not having any other children over," Naru said in a matter of fact tone.

"Why would they lie? Naru you're just trying to make some excuse, just admit that you're jealous you don't get to be the lead investigator for this one," Mai said throwing her arms up dramatically. Naru ignored her and went into his office. Mai cleaned up the teacups and went to work on washing them in the sink.

Finally arriving at the house Mai stepped out of the van and stretched her legs. "Do you feel anything?" Naru asked her as he closed the van door.

Mai took a deep breath and tried to focus, but she just shook her head. "I'll have to find a place to meditate. It's all hazy, like trying to look through fog," Mai sighed and began walking towards the door. Noriko welcomed them in and showed them t the room they'd be using as base. "Thank you," Mai bowed her head slightly. "We're going to set everything up and then we'd like to talk to your staff," Noriko nodded and let them be. It only took an hour to bring everything in and set up all the monitors.

"Hey kiddos, how's it going?" Monk asked walking into the base.

"Stop being so loud you stupid monk," Ayako snapped at him as she walked in right behind him.

"Good, you two are just in time to help set up cameras," Mai smiled and looked up from her notes. "Ayako I need you to go around and take the temperature of every room and Monk you set up a camera in these rooms," Mai ordered and they just stared blankly at her.

"Oh, so you're playing boss this week?" Monk asked snickering.

"Since this is Mai's case she is taking the lead and will be in charge," Naru said from his corner of the room, where he had been silently reading a book.

"Ah man, so now I have to listen to someone even younger," Monk sighed dramatically and then smiled at Mai. "Alright boss, what are the rooms you want me to set cameras up in?"

"Here," Mai handed him a list and Ayako just sighed and grabbed a clipboard and thermometer. "Be quick about it and tell me if you feel anything," Mai said and Monk grabbed a few tripods and the camera bag.

"Let's go you old hag," Monk said walking out of the room, thankful for the priestess hands being full.

"I'm going to meditate while they work. Naru watch the monitors, Lin I'll need you to keep me safe from spirits just in case," Mai said standing and stretching.

"What do you mean?" Naru asked looking at her and narrowing her eyes.

"When I meditate, I'm left completely vulnerable and there would be no use to leave and then come back, it'd be a waste of time," Mai explained and Naru seemed to be lost in thought. "Lin, are you coming?" Mai asked as she walked towards the door. He simply nodded and followed Mai out. Naru took Lin's seat in front of the monitors. Mai and Lin walked outside and with a quick look around Mai found some decent shade under a tree and sat down.

"Taniyama-san has your abilities been unclear recently?" Lin asked before she started.

"Yes, I've been trying to figure out why, but I might just have to change my routine to help balance them back out," Mai said simply before she started to control her breathing, taking in deep breaths and releasing them slowly. She closed her eyes and her body relaxed. Bright colours began to bounce around her and Mai focused more and flinched when they became darker. Grey and black wisps began to come into focus. It was almost as if Mai could still see her surroundings, but her eyes were still closed. Focusing more on the house more darker wisp became clearer. She could hear children's laughter, but there was something darker, more sinister. Hearing a scream from the house her eyes shot open and she quickly stood but regretted it immediately as she fell to her knees.

"Taniyama-san," Lin went to her side, but she shook her head and pointed to the house, ordering him to go. Mai used the tree to stand and watched as Lin ran into the house. "What happened?" he asked as he arrived at Ayami's room.

"I didn't do it," Ayami wailed, she was standing in the middle of the room holding a doll to her chest tightly.

"It's ok, we know you didn't," Noriko calmed her and rushed her out of the room.

"Oh, come on, she could've caused a poltergeist right?" Ayako asked no one in particular.

"And still be standing? No way," Monk scoffed earning himself a glare.

"Monk is right, even if she had caused this unknowingly, she would have used a lot of energy and would have passed out," Mai explained simply from the doorway. "Anyways, there are many spirits here, but there's one that I can't seem to pinpoint," Mai stared off into thought.

"Are you sure?" Naru asked her, standing from where he had been inspecting the rug.

"Of course I am, I didn't go and meditate for nothing," Mai turned on her heel and walked to base. The others followed after her. "I want a camera placed in Ayami's room and Ayako I want you to watch over her," Mai sat down on the couch in base, suddenly overcome with tiredness.

"I'll do that after I look you over," Ayako said walking over to her and crouching down to eye level. "I thought meditating was suppose to make you feel refreshed, not tired," Ayako scoffed and looked Mai over.

"Not my way," Mai smiled sheepishly and Ayako just shook her head. "I'll be fine, I just need some rest," Mai waved her off and laid down, letting sleep overcome her.

"So, I'm playing babysitter while you guys get to sit around and do nothing," Ayako scoffed and walked out of base.

Night soon fell and the others were asleep, but Lin. Mai groaned and sat up slowly, looking around. "I didn't think I was that tired," Mai spoke, almost making Lin jump.

"How are you feeling?" Lin asked as she came to sit down beside him.

"Rested, you should go sleep, I can take over now," Mai said grabbing a bottle of water from her bag. "I will not take no for answer," Mai stated when she noticed he hadn't moved.

"Alright, Noll won't be pleased, but Taniyama-san be careful," Lin said standing and he headed into the connected room where futons had been set up for them.

Mai watched the monitors for hours until she heard someone walking up behind her. Naru was walking in with two cups of tea. "When did you wake up?" He asked sitting next to her.

"I think around 1 am, when did you get up?" Mai asked accepting one of the cups and taking a sip.

"Just a bit ago, the others should be getting up soon," he said taking a sip from his own cup.

"I guess I'll lay back down, but after I finish my tea," Mai said mostly to herself. They sat there in silence until Mai stood up placing her cup down on the table. "Wake me up in 2 hours," Mai said over her shoulder as she went to the other room and once again fell asleep.


	8. Dollhouse pt2

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I always love the feedback. Enjoy and I will see you guys next time!**

* * *

 _Dollhouse_

"Mai, time to get up sleepy head," Monk shook her shoulder gently and Mai groaned.

"What time is it?" Mai asked rubbing her eyes and sitting up slowly.

"Around 8 am. Naru also told me to tell you about what happened in the living room," Monk said sitting on the futon next to hers. Mai looked at him waiting for him to continue. "Well, I guess around 7 we heard a scream and once we got there all the furniture had been turned over," Monk said scratching the back of his head and then continued, "Do you know what to make of this? Naru and Lin just kept silent."

Mai thought about it for a bit and then answered, "Well this spirit must want us out, usually you don't receive as much activity on the first day." Standing Mai stretched. "I'll change and then we'll discuss on what we'll do," Mai said grabbing her bag and heading to the bathroom. She quickly changed and brushed her teeth, while walking out of the bathroom she bumped into Noriko.

"Good Morning Tanyama-san," Noriko greeted her cheerfully.

"Please call me Mai," Mai smiled brightly at her and she simply nodded. "How is Ayami?"

"She's been keeping to herself, but I think I'm starting to understand how Kana feels about Minnie," Noriko admitted as they started walking towards base.

"What do you mean?" Mai asked placing her bag inside the door of the room they're using as their sleeping quarters.

"Well, I could have sworn I heard another voice from Ayami's room when she was playing, but when I walked in it was only Ayami and Minnie," Noriko said as they walked into base. This made the occupants in the room look at them.

"I told you it's that damn doll," Ayako exclaimed throwing her arms in the air dramatically.

"Noriko I want to see Minnie," Mai said sitting in a chair next to Naru.

"I'll try, but she usually doesn't leave it alone," Noriko said as she thought about it.

"Maybe when she goes to nap," Naru said holding his chin thinking about it himself.

"Alright, I should be able to get it to you this afternoon," Noriko said smiling and then walked out of the room.

"Alright boss what's the plan?" Monk asked looking over at Mai. She was writing something in her notebook. "Hello, earth to Mai," Monk waved a hand in front of her face,

"Lin, did you get any research done yet?" Mai asked ignoring the man in front of her.

Lin handed her a stack of papers and silence fell over the room while she went over it. Some time passed before anyone spoke. "Ayako and Monk I want you both to change the tapes and check in on Ayami," Mai said breaking the silence. They nodded and went without complaint.

"Mai, do you have any ideas?" Naru asked her as he looked up from his note. He took his reading glasses off as he wanted for her answer.

"I think we should have Monk exercise the doll since the very first child was Buddhist and if that doesn't work, we should call in John," Mai answered bitting her lip thinking about it more. Naru nodded in agreement and went back to his notes. Mai stood, but fell back in the chair.

"Are you alright?" Naru asked trying to mask his worry, but Mai still caught it.

Mai nodded slowly and then asked"Can you get me something to eat?" before she knew it a granola bar was being forced into her hands and she took it gratefully. They sat in silence until the others got back. Ayako was holding Minnie as they walked in, causing questioning looks from the others.

"I heard that damn doll talk," Ayako said handing the doll to Mai.

"I thought Ayami wasn't going to nap until later," Mai said looking the doll over and then handing it to Naru.

"I convinced Ayami that we would take good care of Minnie while she went and played with Noriko," Ayako said smirking as she sat on the couch.

"What do you mean you heard it talk?" Naru asked handing the doll off to Lin.

"Well, before we walked into the room I heard two voices, but only Ayami was in there," Ayako looked at the doll and shivered.

"Monk I want you to exercise the doll tonight and Ayako you stay with Ayami, make sure she stays distracted," Mai said standing and the doll was handed to Monk. "Keep an eye on it, if it is possessed it might try to run away," Mai walked out of the room and headed to the kitchen to finally eat a proper meal.

Time passed by and soon it was night. Monk was in his robes and had Minnie in a shoe box. He walked out to the back yard where a pile of logs had been set up. "Na ma Kusa na maan basu," Monk started his mantra while holding the doll, "ah don sin ah ma sa oro," he continued and once he finished he placed Minnie in the shoebox and then placed it on top of the pile of wood and lit it on fire. It wasn't long until it was all burned, except for the doll. "What the hell," Monk exclaimed picking the doll up and shaking it off. "There's not even a mark." He walked back inside and handed the doll to Mai, to which he only received a raised eyebrow. "I don't know how the hell it's not ashes right now," Monk said exhausted as he sat on the couch.

"I call John, he may be able to cleanse it then," Mai said looking down at the doll and then placed it on the table. Just then a scream was heard from the kitchen and they all rushed to get there. A huge fire was coming out of the stove top and Monk was quick to put it out. "It was them," Mai said going pale as she pointed to the windows.

"It was who?" Naru asked looking at the windows trying to see what she was seeing.

"The children," she replied quietly as they disappeared. "They were just there," Mai said calmly and then gasped as she felt a hand on her wrist, but when she looked down nothing was there.

"Mai are you sure?" Ayako asked looking the girl over.

"I'm sure," Mai said walking out of the kitchen and to base. The others followed her, but they all stopped once they noticed Minnie was missing.

"You got to be kidding me," Ayako exclaimed and they all began to look around the room. After looking around the room Minnie was nowhere to be found.

"Look at this," Lin shouted from in front of the monitors. Minnie was sitting on Ayami's bed starring right at the camera.

"How the hell did it get there?" Monk exclaimed watching the monitor, ready to run out the door.

"Wait, there's a reason it was put there," Mai said calmly and they all watched, waiting for something to happen. Minnie was face down on the bed and was being pulled, but the head had popped off and rolled. Monk was out the door with Mai following right behind him, but when they got to the room, Minnie was nowhere to be found in the room. "Damnit, are we seriously going to be playing hide and seek with a damn doll," Monk cursed and looked around the room.

They soon headed back to base empty-handed. "Now this spirit is just making fun of us," Ayako said from her seat on the couch.

"Or it's just making a point," Naru said and everyone looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "It's almost as if it's saying we'll never catch it."

"I don't know, that's not completely far off, but Ayako I want you to stay with Ayami from now on. Lin and Naru will take first shift on night watch, wake Monk and I up at 3," Mai ordered and they all went their separate ways.


	9. Dollhouse pt3

**It's nice to get back into the groove of writing. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, it was a bit slow to write it, but we pulled through! Enjoy! Much love, Ghost!**

* * *

 ** _Dollhouse pt3_**

Lin and Naru awoke Mai and Monk at 3 am and they went to bed. Mai changed clothes and went to the bathroom while Monk watched the monitors. While walking from the bathroom Mai heard a child's giggle. She quickly looked around but didn't see a thing. Picking up her pace she reached base within just a few seconds, allowing Monk to do what he needed while she watched the monitors. "So, where do you think Minnie got off to?" Monk asked as he sat next to her.

"I don't know but I have a feeling we'll have to play its game to find out any more about this case," Mai answered as she offered him a cup of tea, which he gladly accepted. They watched the monitors and Mai went to change the tapes a few times.

"Mai what is that behind you?" Monk asked over the walkie talkie. He watched as she turned around and then looked back at the camera with a confused look. "I guess it's just my imagination, hurry back to base."

Mai began to walk back to base when something caught her attention. "Hey Monk, did you see a shadow?" Mai asked over the walkie, but all she received back was static. She began to look around, the shadow disappeared and Mai quickened her pace to base. A giggle stopped Mai in her tracks. "Monk, did you pick that up?" Mai practically whispered and once again static could only be heard. A shadow ran across the hall and another giggle could be heard. Mai followed it into the living room and found Minnie sitting on the couch.

"Mai, what are you doing in there?" Monk's voice came over the walkie, causing Mai to jump. Mai picked up the doll and quickly ran to base.

"Well, it seems our game of hide and seek has ended," Mai said as she held the doll up. Monk looked at her and took the doll.

"Maybe we should tie it up," Monk suggested shivering. Mai nodded and sat down next to him. "Well I'll find something to tie her up with," he placed the doll in his chair and went to look for some rope. Mai watched the monitors as he looked and heard another giggle, before seeing a shadow move out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me," Mai exclaimed and Monk turned to look at her. "The freaking doll is gone," Mai sighed and searched the monitors.

"How the hell did it get away?" Monk asked looking around for the doll. He sat back down with Mai and sighed. "Just how the hell did that damn doll get out of this room, without either of us seeing it?" Monk threw his arms into the air and watched the monitors.

A few hours and several cups of tea later it was 6 o'clock and everyone began to shuffle in. "Anything good happen last night?" Ayako asked yawning and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Oh, you know, playing hide n' seek with a possessed doll and having it follow me around for the rest of the night," Mai answered sarcastically causing everyone in the room to look at her. "You know the usual," Monk added standing and stretching his back.

"What do you mean you played hide n' seek with a doll?" Naru asked dryly looking between the monk and his brunette assistant. When neither answered he sighed. "Mai, Tea," he demanded and Mai complied.

"Well, Minnie decided to run around last night while I was changing the tapes in the cameras," Mai explained while she put the pot of water on the hot plate. "I kept hearing giggles and then the walkie stopped working, not to mention the shadow I saw and then I found Minnie sitting on the couch in the living room," Mai continued as she waited for the water to boil.

"Then after Mai brought Minnie back to base, I looked for something to tie that damn doll up with and it was gone," Monk said sitting down on the couch.

Ayako sat next to him and shook her head, "How the hell did that doll get passed both of you?"

"Well, it's not like we just opened the door and let it get away," Mai said annoyed as the teapot started to whistle. "Besides you probably couldn't do any better, since your so old you probably should be wearing glasses," the teapot whistled more aggressively and Mai finally took it off the hot plate, burning her hand in the process, but she didn't flinch or let anyone see that it had burned her.

"What did you say you little brat?!" Ayako screeched and went to stand. "Didn't your parents ever teach you any manners!"

"How could they, they are dead after all," Mai mumbled under her breath and the heat in her palm began to rise in temperature. No one had heard what she said and so Ayako began to move towards her. "It's obvious your parents didn't teach you a thing about how to be selfless and not to demand respect," Mai said calmly as she fixed tea for everyone.

"I do not demand respect," Ayako gasped and stared at the girl. "And I am selfless, it's just no use wasting it on a selfish brat like you," she added crossing her arms.

"Me, selfish? I spent two years helping tutor students, with very low pay, instead of going and finding a higher paying job because they needed me," Mai had turned on her heel, her face red with anger and the room became hotter.

"There's a difference between being selfless and just plain stupid," Ayako shot back with a smirk.

"Alright, that's enough," Naru's voice cut through very easily and caught the attention of both women. "Mai you're not lead on this case anymore, go watch over Ayami and as for you Matsuzaki I want you to go and pick up Father Brown if either of you has a problem with this you can leave," his voice was cold and stern. Ayako sighed dramatically and stomped out of the room. Mai finished the tea and then went to look for Ayami.

"Oh Mai, you must be on Ayami watch," Noriko smiled as Mai entered the kitchen.

"Yep, where is she?" Mai asked smiling brightly and then Ayami came around from behind Noriko. "Hey, I didn't see you there."

"When will I get Minnie back?" Ayami asked timidly.

"I don't know yet, but how about we go play outside?" Mai smiled and Ayami took her hand. They walked outside and the sun had just risen. Mai sat on the porch and watched Ayami run around giggling.

"Here we are, I thought you two would enjoy some snacks," Noriko said sitting beside Mai. "Ayami, come eat some snacks."

"Thank you, auntie," Ayami beamed and ran towards them. "Hey Mai, do you want to have a tea party with me?" she asked with a huge smile.

"Sure," Mai smiled and Ayami ate a few cookies, before pulling Mai to her room. "Ayami let's go play in the living room."

"But my teacups are in my room," Ayami whined and Mai covered her view of the wall. Noriko had followed them and once she saw what was written on the wall she screamed.

The gang, except for Lin, raced up the stairs. "Mai get Ayami downstairs," Naru ordered and Mai nodded pulling Ayami along with Noriko. Before they could get to the stairs Noriko's ankle was pulled and she began to be dragged across the floor. Mai grabbed her hand and Monk began to chant. Noriko was soon released and Mai helped her up. "Let's go to base and have Lin look it over since Matsuzaki is away. Mai, please take a picture of this for the file and clean it off, Takigawa will watch over Ayami until you are done," Naru ordered and lead the rest to base.

"This is what happens to bad girls," Mai sighed as she read the words out loud. "Is this Minnie's doing? Is it because of Ayami letting us take her?" Mai asked herself while she took a picture of it with her phone. Once she sent the picture to Lin, she looked for a sponge and some cleaning solution.

"It seems your ankle has been dislocated," Lin said and started to wrap it up. "We should get to the hospital so it can be properly examined."

"I can take her," Monk offered and Naru nodded. "I guess I can take Ayami with me," Monk said and once again Naru only nodded.

"I'll be fine, there's no need to take me to the hospital," Noriko smiled and waved them off. "I have some crutches, from when I sprained my ankle a few years back, so it's fine."

"Alright, let me help you go get them," Monk offered her a hand and she gladly took it. As they were walking out of base, Mai walked in. "Done so soon?" Monk paused and asked her.

"Yep, it's not that hard to clean a wall off with the right solution," Mai smiled and Ayami ran to her.

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault," Ayami cried hugging Mai. "I shouldn't have let you take Minnie," she continued on rambling and cried more.

"Ayami, sweetie it's not your fault," Mai soothed and hugged her back. "Is this what Minnie said she'd do if you disobeyed her?" Ayami only shook her head and cried.

"Listen here Ayami, your aunt Noriko is hurt badly and if you don't tell us, we can't prevent her from getting hurt even more," Naru demanded coldly, grabbing Ayami from Mai and made her look at him, causing Ayami to cry more.

"Are you serious Naru, she's just a child!" Mai yelled at him and then slapped him, to which he just stared at her in shock. "Ayami come here sweetie, let's sit on the couch," she took Ayami's hand and led her over to the couch where she soothed the child and calmed her down. Mai still shot a glare at Naru every now and then.

"You should have known better Noll," Lin looked at his young charge, shaking his head slightly in disappointment. "Ayami is just a child, no older than 6. You had to of expected that outcome," Lin continued to watch Naru as he crouched down near the couch.

"You know you'd be a great mother Mai," John said from the doorway, causing Mai to blush and look away. "Now, where is this doll?" he asked coming into the room fully and looking around.

"We haven't been able to find her," Ayako walked in behind him and plopped down in the closest chair.

"Matsuzaki, Noriko was attacked by the spirit, Lin looked at her ankle, but I think a more professional opinion would be better. She's in her room," Naru said and Ayako huffed. "We will search for the doll once Ayami has told us what she knows," he informed John.

"Ayami, what has Minnie said to you?" Mai asked her softly and the small child sniffled. "We promise to keep Noriko safe."

"You do?" Ayami sniffled some more and Mai nodded. "Well, when we moved in Minnie started talking and she told me that Kana was an evil witch and put aunt Noriko and daddy under her spell and made them her slaves," she paused and sniffled, rubbing her eyes a bit. "Then she said none of them could be trusted and that I wasn't allowed to play with aunt Noriko or she would make terrible things happen," Ayami began to cry once more. "It's all my fault."

"Ayami, when did the other children start showing up?" Naru asked as he finished writing down notes in his black book.

"Minnie invited them, first it was just two and then more started to show up," Ayami was still crying and Mai glared at Naru.

"Thank you Ayami, you've been a big help," Mai comforted Ayami calming her once again, but she started to hiccup. "Let's fix you a cup of tea," Mai took stood, but Ayami grabbed her hand causing her to pause. "I'm not going far, just to the other side of the room," squeezing her hand a little Mai smiled and the child released her hand.

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 **Ok, so everyone says that Ayako and Monk were real jerks when they all first met and I mean you never really see it, so I hope you enjoy that little scene and understand why Naru took Mai off the case. Don't forget to leave a review and tell me how you liked it or if you noticed any mistakes!**


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